Puja Khedkar’s fraud affected other aspirants, UPSC tells Delhi HC

UPSC opposes anticipatory bail plea of former IAS probationer accused of cheating and fraud, seeks custodial interrogation.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) opposed an anticipatory bail plea by former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits, before the Delhi High Court saying she committed a fraud against the commission and the public.

Earlier, the court had granted interim protection from arrest to Ms. Khedkar, who has been accused of fraudulently clearing UPSC exam, till August 21.

Read Editorial:A case of excesses: On the Puja Khedkar case

On Wednesday, the court extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Ms. Khedkar till August 29, the next date of hearing.

The Delhi police also sought dismissal of the pre-arrest bail plea on the ground that any relief to her would hinder its probe into the “deep-rooted conspiracy” and that the case has wider implications on public trust as well as the integrity of the civil services examination.

In its reply filed in court, the UPSC said Ms. Khedkar’s custodial interrogation was necessary to unearth the magnitude of the “fraud” that could not have been done without the help of other individuals. Therefore, her pre-arrest bail plea should be dismissed, it said.

“The gravity of the fraud committed is unprecedented in nature having been committed against not only a constitutional body — the complainant — whose traditions are untrammelled and unparalleled but also against the public at large, including the citizens of this country who have utmost faith upon the credibility of the UPSC as well as persons who could not be appointed despite being duly eligible and qualified due to illegal means employed by the applicant to seek appointment,” the reply said.